Greenhornet1986

Tool, thank you for posting this, I have been looking on a few websites lately, trying to learn as much as I can, in case I make a purchase sometime soon

AkTallPaul

unfortunatly the others I have are below the standards for this site.....

berner

I bought my wife's ring at Birks. It's a .38 VS1, F-G in color. Do you have a Birk's store around you? They sell very nice stuff, little more money but worth it.

There's quite a buzz about Canadian diamonds too. Check them out.

desertram800

When I was in Dubai, I spent about $550 US dollars on loose diamonds. I was worried that they weren't real because they didn't have certification papers or anything. Anyhow, when I got back to the US I looked up a diamond buyer, and he was just some rich business guy in his office. ANyhow, he looks at them with the little magnifying glass and offered me $2,600! Needless to say, I gladly accepted and walked out with a big smile on my face! So I have to say the best place to buy diamonds is in Dubai, in a place called the "gold Sook" Or something like that!

PourinDiesel

Ebay has some good diamond/jewelry dealers check the feedback. Many have stores loaded with rings, stones, etc.

Luke S

Forget about going to these big chain stores, like Zales, and Kay and all of those, you'll just get raped. Find a good small local store, that has a good reputation and go in and hagle. I bought my wife a ring that was priced at $6200 and I bought it for $2500. That was seven years ago.

tool

I like your idea Luke, that's generally the way I lik to do business. It's just that I really don't understand what is good and what is not..... Sure I understand the grading but how are you supposed to know if the stone actually matches the ceretificate??

Like for example when I go to big chain stores like Peoples. They show me a ring for $6,000 (wehich are always on sale, "Today Only) and the certificate says the replacement cost is $14,000

Is that just supposed to make your woman feel better or that you love her $8,000 more??

HAHAHA

This drives me nuts..

What is even funnier, I was browsing in a shop yesterday and asked to see aa ring that I thought looked really nice and it was a Cubic Zirconia!!!

I felt pretty stupid.

Forrest Nearing

I just went through this fairly recently... thankfully I have an old friend whose family owns a 3rd generation family jewelry shop, so I was able to "call it in"

but my recomendation is to not get too hung up on finding a flawless stone... and don't get too hung up on certification... my wife's center stone is certified, but if I could have found an uncertified stone that fit the bill, I would have gone with it. her side stones .33ct a piece, and her stud earrings .37ct each are non-cert stones and they look AWESOME.

my parameters are: as white as you can get, no inclusions visible to the naked eye, and you just have to look at them so see what kind of fire they have. if you go with a multi-stone ring, try to get the face cuts similar in demension just to get a good visual balance.

this is an emotional purchase, NOT a financial investment... if a stone looks right (and it's priced appropriately!) it IS right... my wife's center stone .72ct princess has an extra facet (undetectable to the naked eye... at the very point) and isn't perfectly square. BUT, the way it's cut gives it SO much more fire than every perfectly square princess I've seen... it's unique and she LOVES it

I would always lean for a higher color number than clarity if given a choice, and the cut is just something you have to look at and decide if you like it.

If you're interested I can put you in touch with my buddy. No sales tax if shipped out of TX I was in Phoenix when I got her ring, and I was in Millwaukee when I got her earrings

Forrest Nearing

oh, and DO NOT go into those big chain stores!!!! you're paying for their advertising, their storefront, their commission, etc. etc. etc.

definately go mom-pop!

Forrest Nearing

oh yeah... (kinda thinking outloud here)

price per ct goes up as size increases... so a .72-.73 is a good deal cheaper per ct than a .75... a .96-.98ct is going to be a better buy than a 1.02ct, etc. make sense?

a good jeweler will tell you all of this and will make the experience a pleasure vs. feeling like you're getting pushed into something so that they can make their commisssion!

Kaboom

One of the other guys was right when they said the Canadian Diamonds. There is a Polar Bear variety which is a beauty!
You will get a better deal if you go to a smaller store.

tool

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it.

I guess I realise the whole "Emotional" purchase part as supposed to a financial investment. I guess I have to justify most all major purchases to myself financially. I don't want to play the whole "self made man" thing or whatever but I think I have worked pretty hard for what I have and in recent times have been doing well for a young guy (just turned 27 last month) I'm 2,500 miles from any of my family and everything that I brought with me when I left came in the back of a short box truck sort of deal. Plus I was a business and commerce major in University so...... yeah things do sorta need to make economical sense to me or atleast. I don't want to pay $5,000 for a ring that is reallyh on worth $3,500 if you understand??

On that note, I really have no idea how much I should pay. I guess this is one area where I don't want to be "cheap" or whatever.. You only ever buy one right?
I know she'll be happy with whatever I choose but I want it to9 be nice, I want her to like it and feel happy with it. And probably admittedly, i want her friends to be a little impressed.... Maybe that is stupid.
But like the 2 month Salary rule?? I'm not on Salary so my income month to month could vary a lot, and I don't know if that is a good bencmark anyway.... So I'm also fighting with myself over how big I should buy and how much I should spend.. I've looked a few 1 CT soliatires that are calling my name...

Forrest Nearing

dude, of course you want her friends to be impressed! LOL! you'll pay "more than it's worth", but the key is to not OVERPAY... I had my wife's ring custom made, and it came in a good deal less expensive than the chain stores or online stores.

as for how much to spend? I would just start looking around and decide what you want without considering price... THEN see what it's going to cost you. then decide if you can live with it

I love my wife, but at the time I bought her ring, I was grossing about $7k/mo... no way in hades was I going to drop double that on a piece of jewelry!!!!!!!!

Forrest Nearing

also, you need to consider how it's going to look on her hand and what her hand goes through on a dialy basis... I wanted a multi-stone ring because I just think they look nice, and I liked the past/present/future symbolism, and I had it customized with 6 more small diamonds to represent the 6yrs we'd been together.

a large solitaire is very nice, but in order for the light to hit it right, it typicaly has to stand up fairly high and the ring will be more prone to snagging on things.

I looked at rings that were 1ct center and .5ct sides, and it started getting on the gaudy side for the size of her hand. cost was obviously an issue, but if I had made up my mind that that's what it needed to be, I would have spent it

and when I saw her center stone in the light, I knew it was perfect

now I just gotta start saving for a big fat solitaire pendant... I'm kinda addicted to giving her things that sparkle. for a long time I could never afford it, and she stuck with me through all that.

Crimedog

I went with my brother when he picked out his wife's ring. The things that I picked up on were to take your time in selecting them, and find a way to ask her friends what whe likes if you aren't positive. It's pretty much guaranteed that she has been discussing rings with her friends. Also, I don't know if it is standard, but the place my brother got his offered free cleaning and inspections every 6 months, lifetime warranty, and 100% value for trade-ups.